The Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to two of the governor's bills, but they remain stuck in a House committee.

Gov. Larry Hogan may have the upper hand in getting some of his tax-relief proposals passed by a reluctant, Democratic-controlled General Assembly. He has the power to withhold some of the money for education that Democrats want and hold back funds providing state workers a 2 percent cost-of-living increase.

"There's a lot of talk in Annapolis (on whether) there is a deal or not a deal. It's not a deal. It's a process. All the legislators know that the governor has very strong budgetary powers and what they've put in this given year is not guaranteed," said Joe Getty, the governor's legislative liaison.

The governor's tax-relief bills have been bottled up in the House Ways and Means Committee since February.

"The House is going to wait to see what the Senate is going to do," said Delegate Frank Turner, D-Howard County.

A Senate committee gutted a provision of the governor's gas tax repeal measure stopping automatic increases. It now only lowers the cap on increases due to inflation from 8 percent to 3 percent.

The same committee killed the governor's desire to provide some tax relief on the pensions of police officers, firefighters and first responders.

Two other bills are advancing in the Senate. One exempts personal property taxes for small business that have assets of less than $10,000.

Liberal senators are worried about the impact on counties, which stand to lose revenue. Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George's County, and others expressed concern about the loss in revenue.

"Not every county has a local personal property tax, but (for) the counties that do, it will be (a) $7.7 million (loss)," said Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery County.

The other tax relief measure was replaced by one offered by Sen. Doug Peters, D-Prince George's County. It expands a tax exemption for military pensions for veterans 65 and older.

"The governor has signaled loud and clear that, at the end of the budget process, he wants some tax relief in addition to the rebasing and the reduction to the structural deficit," Getty said.

Budget conference committees are expected to meet this week as representatives from the House and Senate meet to smooth out differences in the budget bills passed in each chamber.

The President has previously commuted 21 other sentences, all drug-related, as well. This brings his total to 43 commutations as president.

"The 22 commutations granted today underscore the President's commitment to using all the tools at his disposal to bring greater fairness and equity to our justice system," White House counsel Neil Eggleston said in a blog post.

Obama personally penned a letter to all 22 recipients.

"I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity. It will not be easy, and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change. Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust to your new circumstances," Obama wrote.

"But remember that you have the capacity to make good choices," he wrote. "I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong."

For these 22 prisoners, these commutations are a second chance at life.

One of the individuals, Donel Marcus Clark, has served more than two decades of a sentence for a nonviolent cocaine conspiracy.

"Donel has worked meticulously on personal growth and development since the beginning of his incarceration over 20 years ago," Brittany K. Bird, Clark's attorney, said in a statement.

"He is overwhelmed with joy at the news and looks forward to being reunited with his sons! We are extremely grateful to President Obama and hope that he continues to grant commutations to others like Donel who are serving draconian sentences for nonviolent drug crimes," she said.

Clark's sentence has been commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.

"We are thrilled that President Obama is making good on his promise to use the powers granted him by the Constitution to provide relief for federal prisoners serving excessively long mandatory minimum sentences," said Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

"I commend the President," Stewart said. "But I'd also like to stress that the problem his actions are trying to address can't be solved by the White House or the Department of Justice. Congress created these mandatory minimums, and Congress needs to reform them."